Wednesday, 26 April 2017

The Inventory: Black Knight - Andy Briggs

Dev and his friends are back with more mind-bending tech in this third installment of the Inventory series. The World Consortium is recruiting more agents to defend the most advanced technology the world isn't ready for, and it's up to Dev, Lottie, and Mase to train them up for action. But will they be ready before Shadow Helix's next strike? And has Dev uncovered all the secrets of his past, or is there more to know about his special abilities?

We're back in the World Consortium with Dev, Lottie, Mason, along with some new arrivals to face the next battle with Shadow Helix. Say what you like about reading YA or middle-grade fiction, the Inventory series have been better than a lot of the adult 'tech' thrillers I've read over the years - and not because it's in a more simple form.

Each installment has improved on the last so reading Black Knight was a huge treat but I was concerned about the addition of extra characters to the gang. I worried needlessly because Wan Soo, Riya, and Aaron were great and added an extra layer to the dynamics between Lot, Dev, and Mason. Dev and his friends are in charge of training the new recruits and this does not always go as smoothly as Uncle Charles (Parker, head of the World Consortium) would like. There's more than a little friction, especially when Mason starts mooning over the new girl and one of the new boys doesn't seem to have a good word to say about anything, except for dropping veiled hints about the fact there may be a mole in their midst...

Not only do they have to contend with Shadow Helix it appears there may be a new player in town, called the Company Of Merchant Adventurers who appear at every location the children go to on their mission to retrieve more of the technology stolen from the warehouse. There's also a mystery man who claims to have amnesia, a mysterious entity known as Black Knight and a flashback to the 1800's which I loved!Black Knight has all the great elements from the first two books and then more heaped on top. I think the relationship between Dev, Mason, and Lot is exactly as it should be and their bond is even stronger despite Mason going gaga over Riya. The action is non-stop from the first page to the last page, the tech in this one was amazing and personally, I'd like to get my hands on some of it! There's also a space battle which I shan't say anything about so as not to spoil too much of the plot but this was by far the best trip into space I've read about, especially as we're reminded of Dev's fear of heights...The book ends on a cliffhanger but for once I'm happy about this as it confirms (hopefully) that the gang will be back for more adventures and I would love to get to know more about the Company of Merchant Adventurers. In the meantime, all three books are going on the keeper shelf for the twins to read, even though it might be a couple of years before they're ready for them!